Omega Seamaster price increase

[paultownsend]

I have had my Seamaster for just over a year. Its been faultless.
Today i was walking past the same dealer i purchased it from (Goldsmiths) and noticed the price. £2400! rrp when i purchased was £1900, unfortunately that is what i paid due to the 0% offer and the Tesco vouchers used for the deposit.

Im not sure of the exact model i have, but i know its the standard co-axial automatic. black large face. comparing the two visually there are no obvious differences. so have there been any movement changes?

[Spice_Weasel]

This is a very timely post for me as yesterday I saw a used model in the window of a jewellers in Stratford upon Avon. They wanted £1700 for it, claiming on the price card a RRP of £4200 which I felt must be incorrect.

I know all manufacturer's list prices have increased dramatically and I also know that the SMP now has a Co-ax movement but £2400 is still a whopping increase in 14 years over the £1095 I paid for mine.

[mikeveal]

Given the markup on these things, one has to wonder if the current state of the economy can support the current pricing. Wrist worn horology prices has always been driven by perceived value rather than intrinsic worth.

Wishful thinking?

[paultownsend]

mine is the 212.30.41.20.01.002

so still the current advertised model. £400 in 14 months is a little silly

[Mr Happy]

The old PO has gone up again too, I paid £2430 for mine in April, it's now up for £2800.

This is despite the new 8500-based PO being on the market too!

[HereBeMonsters]

Surely with the recession etc. no-one's going to be able to afford these...

[lowdrag]

As said, it isn't just Omegaa. Four years back I paid £2,850 for an IWC Spitfire chrono on a bracelet. Now it is £4,850, but you can get it for around £4,000. That's a 40% increase.

[Ikemi]

Mr Happy said:

The old PO has gone up again too, it's now up for £2800.

Blimey! I'm glad I bought mine when I did, almost 3 years ago ... I understand that Omega are in the process of aligning their products with the likes of Rolex, but at what point does a buyer think, "I wonder what else is available at £3K"?

The PO is an outstanding watch and I'm sure the original will continue to sell at £2.8K. However perhaps not in the same numbers? Still, the S/H market will boom!

[bigrich4]

I've heard that when the new Seamaster range come out next year you'll be looking circa £3k+. Now that's expensive

[Terzo123]

Because of the price rises i could probably sell my PO for what i paid for it new 2 years ago.

Not that im going to though.

[LukeBird]

Ikemi said:

Blimey! I'm glad I bought mine when I did, almost 3 years ago ... I understand that Omega are in the process of aligning their products with the likes of Rolex, but at what point does a buyer think, "I wonder what else is available at £3K"?

The simple fact is, they don't. To any none 'watch people' who want a decent watch, Rolex and Omega are it in their minds. You can't deny their marketing (generally in Rolex's case) and product placement (generally Omega's forte) are incredible.
The thing is, the PO isn't expensive in comparison to the Submariner, purely taking those two watches into account the PO offers vastly better VFM IMO, it has a 'better' movement than the Sub, a greater water resistance & HEV (pointless, but people do buy watches for pointless reasons!) and is getting on for £2.5k cheaper.

I agree that price rises are out of control, but don't forget it's the new money markets (China and Russia in particular) that are 'making' the manufacturers up their prices to keep the exclusivity... I can't wait until the new money markets burst and suddenly the old-money markets (those that originally kept these companies in business) can't afford the majority of the products they now make.

[Ari]

mikeveal said:

Given the markup on these things, one has to wonder if the current state of the economy can support the current pricing.

If you're affected by the recession then you're not in the market for a four figure wrist watch full stop.

If you're not affected by the recession then it's not an issue.

Also, from the watch manufacturers point of view, if you're selling (say) half the number of watches due to recession hit people being out of the market (at any four fig price) then you need to be making more from those that are still in.

I believe that the biggest reason for these insane price rises (I remember Sub Dates being £2,800 and it wasn't that long ago) is because the general public perceive a watches position by its price tag.

Omega (and other brands) want to be sen as Rolex level watches so keep edging their prices up toward Rolex levels, and Rolex want to maintain clear water so up theirs too. A never ending upward spiral.